


save the world (get the girl)

by astralelegies



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - Role Reversal, Chat Noir!Alya, F/F, I promise I will add better tags later, Identity Reveal, POV Alternating, alyanette - Freeform, superhero girlfriends
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-01
Updated: 2016-06-01
Packaged: 2018-07-11 15:19:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7057873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/astralelegies/pseuds/astralelegies
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's halfway through grade nine, and Marinette thinks she has this secretly-a-superhero business completely under control. Sure, it's difficult balancing classes and saving the city, and sometimes she gets to school late or forgets her homework, but at least she finally knows what she's doing. But when she gets paired with her longtime crush Alya Césaire for a research project suddenly her entire world is turned upside-down. In the ensuing series of mishaps and misadventures that bring both girls perilously close to destroying the equilibrium between their double lives, only one thing is certain: Marinette--and the entire city of Paris--may never be the same again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	save the world (get the girl)

**Author's Note:**

> This project has been in the works for several months now, and I'm very happy to finally be putting the first chapter up. Essentially, this is a role reversal where Alya is Chat Noir (unbeknownst to the rest of the world) as well as the object of Marinette's affections. In her place, Adrien has become Marinette's best friend. Other than that the characters and their backgrounds remain the same. As always, no promises about frequent updates but I do have a plan for this fic and intend to see it through to the end. Title inspired by the song "Save World Get Girl" by I Fight Dragons.

Marinette heard the dreaded sound of her morning alarm and groaned, rolling over to burrow further beneath her blankets. 

“Marinette,” her mother called, “if you don’t get up now you’ll be late for school.”

_What’s one more late day?_ she thought, but she dragged herself out of bed anyway. She’d drifted to sleep only a few hours ago after yet another exhausting night defending the citizens of Paris with Chat Noir, but it wasn’t like she could use that as an excuse for her failure to complete her homework. Again. She wondered if Chat was a student too, and if so how her debonair crime-fighting companion managed to balance class with saving the world. 

She dressed and packed her bag quickly, grabbing a muffin from the bakery on her way out. She met Adrien in front of the school a few minutes before the bell rang. 

“You’re actually on time for once,” he said. 

“It’s not _that_ surprising,” she huffed indignantly.

“It is a little.” 

_You try maintaining a superhero alter-ego in your spare time_ , she wanted to say, but didn’t. 

Adrien stiffened. “Uh-oh. Alya alert.”

Marinette spun around to see her classmate coming up the steps toward them. She ducked behind her friend. 

“Hide me.”

“What?” 

“Distract her!” 

“Um, hey, Alya.” Adrien scratched the back of his neck, glancing awkwardly around the empty space Marinette had so recently vacated. “…did you finish your history homework?”

“Adrien,” said Alya, “why is Marinette hiding behind your back?”

“T—to surprise you.” She jumped out. “Um. Surprise.”

Alya shook her head, smiling faintly. “Weirdo.” She walked on.

Marinette turned to Adrien. “Did you hear that? Alya Césaire called me a weirdo.” 

“You’re ridiculous,” he said. 

“I know,” she told him.

It had been worth getting to school early just to be called a weirdo by Alya Césaire.

They went into class, then, and Marinette resolved to set about her studies with absolute concentration. It worked for a little while, but soon enough she found her thoughts drifting to separate matters. She wondered how long it would be before she was forced to face another akuma victim, wishing there was some way she could be more prepared. Perhaps she and Chat should run drills in what little remained of their free time. 

“Marinette, are you listening?”

She jolted upright in her seat. “Um, yes. Yes I am.” 

Her teacher frowned. “If that’s the case, then I’m sure you’d be happy to explain to us everything I’ve just said about our group project.”

“Group…project. Right.” 

Madame Bustier sighed. “Next time, try not to daydream in class. I’ve paired you with Alya for work on this assignment. She can fill you in on the details.” 

Adrien elbowed her, grinning, and she stomped on his toe. 

“Ow!”

“Adrien, something you’d like to share with the class?”

“No Madame. Sorry.” 

He glared at Marinette, and she grinned. He rolled his eyes and smiled back. 

“Everyone meet up with your partners to begin brainstorming topics for your project.”

Marinette glanced over to where Alya was seated a few rows behind her. The other girl waved. She waved back. Alya motioned to the seat next to her. _Oh, right, the project._ Marinette mentally slapped herself and made her way to the back of the class.

“So I’m thinking we go all out on the research portion,” her partner said. “We could do some investigative journaling and make a website for our presentation.” 

“Sounds awesome to me!” Marinette replied, too enthusiastically. “I mean—yes. If you want.” 

Alya nodded. “Alright. The assignment is on the impact of a cultural icon either throughout history or in the modern age. Anyone spring to mind?”

“Only the obvious.”

“That being?”

Marinette swallowed. “Ladybug and Chat Noir.” 

“That could work.” Alya’s brow furrowed thoughtfully. “It’d make for an academically challenging and socially relevant subject.” 

_And it’s something I already know an awful lot about_ , Marinette thought. 

“Then we should claim it before someone else does.”

“I’ll go tell Madame Bustier.” 

Tikki poked her head out of Marinette’s bag after the other girl had gone. “Isn’t this coming a little too close to blurring the line between your double lives?”

“Far from it,” said Marinette. “This’ll be easy. All I have to do is agree to give Alya a few interviews when I’m Ladybug, and then we’ll have all the source material we need.”

“I don’t know, it sounds risky.”

“Where’s the risk? …okay, she’s coming back now, you’d better hide.” 

Marinette zipped her bag closed just as Alya made it back to the bench. 

“We’re set,” she said. “Madame Bustier’s interested to see what we come up with.”

“I am too.” Marinette thought about all the time she’d get to spend with Alya as a result of their endeavors and sighed dreamily. 

“Alright class, move back to your original seats.” 

“What did you pick?” Adrien asked her as she slid next to him.

“Ladybug and Chat Noir.”

“You’re so lucky. I got stuck with Chloé and she wanted to research _me_.” 

Marinette giggled.

“It’s not funny!” he protested morosely. “Luckily Madame Bustier said that was against the rules and we ended up going with Jagged Stone, but still.”

“Chloé seems quite infatuated with you.”

“I know. It’s becoming a real problem.” 

“You could just let her down easy,” said Marinette. 

“I’ve _tried_ ,” Adrien told her. “She doesn’t listen.”

Much as she enjoyed making fun of him, Marinette could understand her friend’s pain. She wouldn’t want Chloé pining after her either. 

The rest of the day passed more quickly than usual, probably because she spent most of it worrying about working on a project with Alya. She’d have to clean her room. And her face. Especially her face. And probably her hair too. And maybe she should find something special to wear, which Alya would notice and express her appreciation for, and then she’d look at her with those warm golden eyes and—

“Umm, Marinette? You here?” 

She blinked, shaking her head to clear it. “What?”

Adrien poked her in the forearm. “Class is almost over. Alya’s been trying to get your attention for the past two minutes.”

That knocked her out of her reverie. “ _What._ ” 

“It’s something to do with your project, I think.”

“Of course.” 

The bell rang, and Marinette make her shaky way over to Alya’s table. 

“You…wanted to see me?”

“We should probably be able to keep in touch,” said Alya, “for the project.” She passed Marinette her phone. “Just put in your number and I can text you later.”

The back corner of Marinette’s brain, the only part of the organ still functioning, seemed to be stuck repeating _how is this happening how is this happening how is this happening_ , while the rest of her senses operated in a trance-like state of autopilot. Her fingers were moving across Alya’s screen, only shaking a little and only dropping the phone once when she handed it back. Alya caught it.

“I’ll see you later.”

“Right! Later. I. Will see you. Then. Yes.” 

The other girl had moved on and didn’t seem to have heard, for which Marinette was grateful. She turned to find Adrien standing beside her.

“That went well.” 

“Just because I’m not a smooth talker like you—

“Marinette. I’m proud of you.”

She stopped. “Thanks.” 

She wondered when Alya would text. She wondered what would happen when she did. 

Marinette spent the evening catching up on her homework and trying not to think about what Alya was doing that was preventing her from sending a message. Her phone buzzed and she jumped, moving, heart pounding, to inspect it, but it was only Adrien. 

_Check the news!_

She loaded a local station on her computer and saw buildings in flames, a figure with an orange suit and a robot arm shooting up the streets. 

_Twice in two days_ , she thought, sighing. _I thought ladybugs were supposed to be lucky._ Quietly she crept out onto her balcony. 

“Tikki, _transforme-moi_!” 

Before long she was a hero again, sprinting through the streets against the setting sun. In her haste to reach her destination she plowed head-on into a black-clad individual.

“My lady.” Chat Noir bowed. “Where were you going in such a hurry? Rushing to see me?”

“I wouldn’t quite put it that way,” Marinette mumbled.

“Why are you always so serious, Ladybug?” 

“Because one of us has to be.” She unslung her yo-yo. “Save the city with me?”

Chat Noir grinned. “Always.” 

They swung themselves up the wall of a nearby storefront and set off across the rooftops of Paris, racing at top speed toward the latest calamity. _This place never gets tired of peril_ , Marinette thought, wondering if there would ever be a day when she could say with certainty that the danger lurking around the edges of their everyday life was done for. Probably not. 

They found the akuma victim wreaking havoc atop the Pont Louis-Phillipe, shooting off fireballs while terrified pedestrians watched as the Seine boiled below. 

“This situation’s really heating up,” Chat Noir murmured, twirling her baton. 

The two heroes descended on the bridge, attacks seamless with the weight of what felt like a hundred or more operations working together as a team. Even with their experience, it was a close fight. Le Papillon’s power seemed to be growing stronger lately, his marks more cunning in their onslaughts. Or, debatably, more reckless. 

Chat Noir had used Cataclysm too early in the game again and was now neck-and-neck with the villain. Marinette thought she could take the distraction as an opportunity to bring her Lucky Charm into play. She tossed her yo-yo into the air and brought it down again to reveal…a tube of _cake frosting_?

“At least I won’t get hungry,” she said aloud. She assessed her surroundings and knew what she had to do. 

Skirting the edges of the battle, she glanced around for something she could use as a foothold. _There._ She hopped onto the bridge’s railing, feeling a rush of gratitude for the heightened balancing capabilities included in her powers, and crept toward the fight. She locked eyes with Chat Noir while their opponent’s back was turned and held up the tube of frosting. Chat Noir nodded. Marinette tossed her the tube and she caught it deftly in one hand, squeezing a blast of sugary sludge right in their adversary’s face. Marinette used their adversary’s temporary blindness to dart up to the pair and detach the robot arm’s flamethrower. She threw it to the ground and stomped down, hard, and the akuma flew up out of the twisted metal. 

And she caught it, as always, and the world was wiped clean, as always. _If only all of life’s problems could be erased so easily._

The awkwardness of this crush on Alya, for instance. 

With a pang of guilt she realized her project partner had probably texted while she was out and was likely by now beyond impatient for a response. She should attend to that. Throwing a quick farewell over her shoulder at Chat Noir, she sped back towards the bakery, ready to become a normal girl once more.


End file.
